High life | 27 September 2012

New York

Ten years ago this week I put my money down and the American Conservative magazine was born. They say that owning a yacht is like sitting under a shower tearing up $100 bills. Owning an opinion magazine based in Washington DC is like sitting in a dull hotel room throwing $1,000 bills into the fire. A boat will at least get one some attention from the fair sex — if it’s large and vulgar enough, that is — whereas a political fortnightly might attract some bores with lotsa dandruff on their collars, but that’s about it.

For starters, Washington is as boring a town as they come. A large percentage of the people who work there might be women, but they don’t line the bars at night looking for horny Greeks, that’s for sure. After millions spent, there were a couple to speak of, both southern belles, and nothing to do with the magazine.